Conclusion

If you have only one PC in your home or office, or even several, then SP2 probably does not represent too much of a dilemma for you. (We say probably, because there is still a risk that your system will crash and refuse to boot up once you install SP2). While some of your older programs might not be compatible, most new software probably is; if you give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt and try SP2, your Windows XP computing experience will likely be more secure.

But if you are responsible for maintaining 100 or more PCs and, prior to this week, were able to get away with just downloading security updates without installing SP2, you might not be very happy now. That's especially the case if you must download many megaBytes of updates on each machine just to get SP2 to work.

But practical considerations aside, let's consider the bottom line issue here. Should one of the world's largest companies, one that has a virtual monopoly on PC operating systems, be able to mandate what you do with the operating system that you paid for? Without discussing related but tangential issues - such as the implications of Microsoft no longer offering security updates for Windows98, or what the future holds for your legacy programs and systems when the company launches a 64 bit version of Windows - just what can you do about this SP2 issue?

A home or small office user can choose to rely only on a Linux or Mac platform for PC Internet connections for Internet connectivity, thus avoiding the SP2 security dilemma. But for the IT administrator or professional, taking such a measure is not so simple, of course; that's why the SP2 dilemma may just be a sign of the future in terms of who controls what in the professional IT world.